


Knives In

by natcrock



Category: Knives Out (2019)
Genre: F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polar Opposite Friends Check, Ransom Drysdale Being an Asshole, Ransom is a dick, Token poor friend
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-22 16:24:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22718851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natcrock/pseuds/natcrock
Summary: Meg Thrombey and Theo Mendelson are two very mismatched peas in a pod, but somehow they make it work. Because of this, Theo's life has become intertwined with the complicated and dramatic lives of Meg's family for better and for worse. After the murder of the Thrombey patriarch, Theo must come to terms with her place within the deep web of a family she has nothing in common with. Takes place before, during and after the movie.
Relationships: Slight Ransom Drysdale/OFC
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Knives In

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all!
> 
> This is the first time I've posted something online in almost 7 years! University really threw me for a loop. I wanted to write this because I really like the Thrombey family as characters, and I think that their characterization could lead to so many interesting stories to tell. The bulk of the story will take place during the movie, and although I wont be changing the important things in the story, I think there is a lot that can be added to add to the development of each character. Constructive criticism is always welcome!

**Prologue**

Theo Mendelson and Meg Thrombey were two very mismatched peas in a pod. Meg used to joke with Theo that it was because they were so different that they were able to stay such good friends for nearly two decades. After the two of them went their separate ways for university, Theo realized that the reason they got along was because of the circumstances of their families.

Theodosia Mendelson was born to a family no different than most other immigrant families. Her grandparents had fled Poland during the Holocaust, only to come to the United States as refugees. They struggled to find a place that they could call home until they settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where Theo’s father had met her mother and started their own family. Theo met Meg purely by chance; they had the same prestigious violin teacher that Theo had been granted a scholarship to take lessons from. What started as hanging out after lessons turned into two best friends joined at the hip, separated only by school.

Even though their lives were practically different in every way, Theo and Meg completed each other. Whenever one of them had to go somewhere, the other was always close behind. That was how Theo had become so deeply entwined into the lives of the Thrombey family. She had met the other members of the family separately, through other get togethers and events. The first people she met were Linda and Richard Drysdale, who had stopped by Joni’s house one fall afternoon to drop off a gift for Meg’s twelfth birthday. They wouldn’t be able to make it to her party that year because of a business trip to Bangkok. The first thing Theo noticed was how their personalities exuded wealth. She had become very self-conscious of the fact that she was wearing Meg’s hand-me-downs. 

She met most of the rest of the family a week later, at the Thrombey Mansion, for Meg’s party. Meg had two birthday parties that Theo had the honor to attend: one for friends and one for family. The family’s party was nothing less than eye opening. After the party, Theo distinctly remembers looking at Meg and asking if her family hated each other. Meg shrugged.

“They all act like they hate each other, but I think they still love each other.”

***

The girls were fourteen years old when Meg had first brought Theo to her grandfather's mansion for a full Thrombey family get-together. Meg had told her mother that she wanted to bring Theo to celebrate Christmas with the family, since she had never celebrated Christmas before. Joni had been apprehensive at first, but it was Harlan himself that had assuaged any doubts that the woman had. So Theo, who had never celebrated anything other than Hanukkah her whole life, was about to experience her first Christmas. Who better to do it with than the richest people that she knew.

Meg was the one that helped Theo pack a bag to bring with her. She wanted to fit in with this family as much as possible, which meant picking the nicest clothes that she owned, and trying to match them with what Meg was bringing.

“My family is a sweater family. That’s why I bought you that nice cable-knit for Hanukkah. If you have a nice sweater, you’ll definitely fit in.” Meg said, going through the shirts and skirts that Theo picked out.

“Do I need to like, learn how to eat nice or something? Is there like a protocol for eating?” Theo asked, her anxiety starting to grow steadily.

“God no. I promise you’ll probably be the least interesting thing this Christmas. I heard that Ransom dropped out of Harvard like a semester before graduating so that might be the big topic this year. They usually preoccupy themselves with whatever adult drama they can make up.”

Meg had been right, once again. The two of them arrived at the mansion with Joni on December 23rd, not an hour before the rest of the family had descended onto the home. She had had enough time to give a hug to Harlan, who had always treated her just like the rest of the family. He had gifted her with an antique violin that had belonged to an old ancestor one year for her birthday, after he heard that Meg had quit to play field hockey instead. He reminded her of her own grandfather, who had passed away earlier that year.

She and Meg made themselves comfortable in the den off of the entryway while everyone else arrived. She had said that she loves to sit somewhere close to everyone because it was the best way to hear what kind of family drama was stirring. Linda and Richard, like usual, were the first to arrive. Joni was already dipping into the wine.

“Oh Theo! I didn’t know you were joining us this year.” Richard said he handed his jacket to the housekeeper, Fran. Theo always wondered what Fran thought about the Thrombey’s treating her like a butler. She shucked the feeling away and smiled.

“Yeah, Meg insisted I don’t waste my winter break alone.”

“Glad to see a Jew that isn’t offended by other holidays.”

Theo raised an eyebrow at the accusation, but Meg softly kicked her and gave her a soft smile when she looked over. 

“My parents raised me to be aware of other religions. She was very excited to let me experience a new celebration.”

When Richard and Linda left to join Joni in the main sitting room, Theo looked at Meg with a disgusted look. “I didn’t think people still called us Jews just like, outright.”

Meg snorted, “That’s this family in a nutshell. They think they’re so different and progressive than other wealthy families, but they’re just like the rest.”

Walter and his family showed up next, starting right off with the discussion of money and book sales. Theo had read most of Harlan’s novels, and had always agreed that they were best kept as such. Walter didn’t share that belief. She had a feeling that was something of a very sore spot for the father and son. His son, Jacob, trailed behind quietly. Theo didn’t know how old he was, but even in his young age his piercing stare gave her goosebumps. The last dinner she had with Walter’s family he stared at her the entire night.

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly for the two girls. They read quietly in the den for a few hours, then wandered around the mansion gossiping about Meg’s family and some of the kids she went to school with. Theo never usually talked about her school with Meg. Everyone was dull in comparison to the rich kids she spent time with. It wasn’t until halfway through a pretty normal dinner that the front door flew open and Theo realized there was someone missing from the table.

Theo had met Hugh Ransom Drysdale once in her life. The two girls had been spending a weekend at the mansion while Joni was away attending to her business, and Harlan had offered to let the girls stay over. Ransom was around 20 at the time. He introduced himself by storming across the front porch and kicking their Jenga game over. He never said a word to Theo.

Now here he was, an hour late to dinner and pulling himself a seat as if nothing was wrong. The table, and Meg nudged Theo with her foot, a small grin on her face. He gestured towards Theo.

“Who’s the kid?”

“You’ve met Theo before, Ransom.” Meg said, digging her fork into the mashed potatoes on her plate. 

“Theodosia is spending Christmas with us.” Linda said, staring her son down, “I suggest you eat, Hugh. You and I have some talking to do later.”

“Wow, a ‘welcome home, Ransom, we missed you’ would’ve been nice.” He shot back, shoveling food onto his plate.

“Are you not a big eater, Theo?” Walt said, motioning to Theo’s sparse plate. She shook her head.

“Oh. No. I uh… I can’t eat ham. It’s not kosher.”

The table erupted in apologies that Theo couldn’t distinguish between genuine or not. Harlan later told her that she can go talk to the cook and give him a list of foods that she was able to eat. By the time she left the kitchen and went to go join Meg in the bedroom they were sharing, she could hear whatever argument was going on in the sitting room reverberating through the halls. 

“Hey, kid.” Theo looked behind her where the door to the back veranda was. Ransom was standing in the doorway, cigarette in hand, “you want one?”

“I don’t smoke.” She replied, staring at him.

“Yes you do. I can see you staring at it.”

She slowly approached the older man with caution as he held out the unlit cigarette to her. She took it.

“So the family seems to adore you.” He said holding up a lighter for her. She grabbed it from him and lit her own smoke. “Never seen them in such a tizzy to fit someone else’s lifestyle.”

“It’s not a lifestyle. It’s a religious dietary restriction.” She shot back, taking a drag from the cigarette. She didn’t smoke often, but she felt that this strange situation she was in warranted something.

“A Jew spending Christmas with her rich friends family. Sounds like the plot of a stupid holiday movie.”

“Maybe so, but it seems to me that your family is much more accommodating with me than they are with you.” She watched Ransom’s eyebrow raise as he grinned.

“No doubt they see you as some charity case or some shit. They always love supporting the underdog.”

She looked at him as she flicked ash at his very expensive looking leather boots. “Even so, they probably recognize I actually have something going for me in my future. They also know that I’m never gonna drop out of university and slink home looking to mooch on the family fortune.”

Ransom grimaced at her. “You’re a little bitch, you know that. You’ve got the same little attitude as Meg, and no doubt you two will turn into little femi-nazi shitheads. But for some reason I like you.”

“It’s cause I’m not Meg. I might become a femi-nazi shithead but at least I know what I’m talking about. So  _ thank you _ for the cigarette, but I’m going to go spend my evening with the one person in this family who at least kinda gets it.”

She flicked her cigarette at Ransom’s boot again, leaving a little singe mark on the leather. He didn’t say anything as she went back inside, her frozen feet warming up on the heated wood floors. She walked past the dining room where Walt and Harlan were almost certainly having a passionate conversation about the future of Harlan’s books, and turned up the stairs where Meg was standing at the top.

“Yo, where were you. I thought you were still in the kitchen but I watched Guy leave like ten minutes ago.”

“It’s nothing. I just snuck a smoke out back. Let’s go watch a movie or something.”

Theo didn’t notice the piercing glare of Ransom Drysdale watching her from the bottom of the stairs. 


End file.
